The Open Borders Crime Crisis

What do you think it will take to convince the open borders crowd that their obsession makes us all less safe? A chain saw attack? Perhaps not even that. Our Corruption Chronicles blog has the gruesome story:

As the separation of families pouring in from Mexico dominates the airwaves several disturbing cases involving illegal aliens shift the focus back to the devastating impact of America’s poorly guarded southern border. In the last few days alone, an illegal immigrant who had been deported eleven times attacked his wife with a chainsaw in front of their children, another got charged with a series of violent rapes and dozens were arrested for operating a major human and drug smuggling enterprise in a major U.S. city.

The gruesome chainsaw attack occurred in Los Angeles County, which has long offered illegal immigrants sanctuary. A man named Alejandro Alvarez-Villegas, deported to his native Mexico 11 times since 2005, tried to kill his wife with a chainsaw. In local media reports, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) refers to him as a “serial immigration violator,” but the agency fails to explain how that could possibly occur. Alvarez-Villegas has been charged with seven felonies and is being held without bail. One California newspaper worries that the assailant’s immigration status will fuel calls for a big wall on the border with Mexico and spark “illegal immigration foes to point to the U.S. immigration system as a failure in need of revamping.” The piece also quotes open borders advocates saying that domestic violence happens among Americans citizens too and that it’s not an “undocumented” problem.

Several hundred miles north in San Francisco, an illegal immigrant from Peru recently got charged with rape by force or violence and other crimes. The 37-year-old, Orlando Vilchez Lazo, was a driver for the ride-sharing company Lyft who somehow passed a background check. Lazo faces life in prison and is being held in jail in San Francisco on $4.2 million bail. San Francisco has long provided illegal aliens with sanctuary and forbids it law enforcement agencies from cooperating with federal immigration officials. Judicial Watch has sued the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department (SFSD) to prevent the use of taxpayer funds on policies that prohibit department personnel from cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement officials. Back in 2008, Judicial Watch investigated the SFSD’s handling of an illegal alien (Edwin Ramos) charged with the triple murder of three innocent American citizens. Ramos, who had been arrested on three prior occasions and convicted with two felonies, was never turned over to federal immigration authorities for removal to his native El Salvador under San Francisco’s sanctuary policies.

In the other recent case involving serious illegal immigrant criminal activity, 18 human smugglers and 117 illegal aliens got arrested in three stash houses in the area surrounding El Paso, Texas and southern New Mexico. Most of the illegal aliens—93—are from Mexico and the rest from Guatemala (12), Honduras (6), Brazil (3), El Salvador (2) and Peru (1). At least three of the illegal immigrants have serious criminal records, according to information released by ICE. A 32-year-old Mexican man busted in the ring has convictions for child endangerment and driving while intoxicated as well as being arrested for illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported. A 30-year-old Mexican has ties to a drug cartel and was previously arrested for fraud and misuse of visas. A 34-year-old Guatemalan has an outstanding warrant in Florida for driving under the influence and has also been charged with illegally re-entering the U.S. after deportation, according to the feds.

Besides arresting the criminal elements, the feds also seized more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana in the El Paso bust, large amounts of U.S. and Mexican cash, nine vehicles and three tractor-trailers. Two American citizens were nabbed in the operation, including a 42-year-old man with prior convictions for aggravated stalking, kidnaping, possessing a deadly weapon and possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. The other U.S. citizen, a 25-year-old man, has prior convictions for escape from custody, possessing marijuana, assault and driving while intoxicated. While all this is going on, the overwhelming majority of immigration-related media coverage continues to focus on children being separated from their parents. A new national poll reveals that most Americans consider immigration the most important problem facing the nation.

In this face of the illegal immigration crisis, Judicial Watch stands fast for the rule of law – whether it be monitoring the border or suing to stop dangerous and illegal sanctuary policies in places like San Francisco.